Irish Allotments

Ovencrafter Hendrik Lepel Presents A 2 day Pizza Oven Workshop

Thomas — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:04:43 +0000

During this weekend workshop we will build an earth oven near Mallow. Made out of claysoil, sand and straw; earthen ovens are simple, low-cost and fun to build. Ideal for baking bread and pizza, earthen ovens are beautiful as well as functional, making wonderful additions to any home garden or patio.

This weekend workshop will cover Earth Oven construction from start to finish. Participants will learn basic oven building methods and techniques including: how to gather raw materials, build foundations and apply finish plasters. The workshop will also cover how to heat and bake with a wood-fired, earthen oven. The goal of the workshop is not only to demonstrate how to build an oven but how to work with earth as a building material.

Participants will walk away from the weekend feeling confident about building their own earth oven. This workshop is geared for people of all ages and skill levels.

The Workshop will run Saturday – Sunday 26th and 27th of June from 10:00am to 5:00pm – the cost for the Workshop is €150 which includes refreshments

For Bookings and Further Details please call Hendrik Lepel on 086 883 8400 email – kirdnehl@hotmail.com

RDS Allotment Awards

Thomas — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:27:01 +0000

- New Award Scheme Launched -

June 2010 – The RDS are excited to announce the launch of a new awards scheme that recognises the growing interest in allotment gardening through the RDS Allotment Awards. These awards have a total prize fund of €3,000 and strengthen the Society’s commitment to promoting bio-diversity in Ireland.

Whether it’s for reasons of health or the economy allotment gardening has never been more popular in Ireland. Allotments provide fresh and healthy food as well as many other benefits to those involved such as relaxation, enjoyment and recreation. The RDS Allotment Awards aim to recognise the hard work, dedication and attention to detail that is being undertaken by those involved in allotment gardening and also to promote an area that encourages people to become more aware of rural issues.

The first award recognises the individual allotment gardener and is divided into two categories; Experienced and Novice Gardener. With the aim of promoting excellence in allotment gardening, the winner in each category will receive €500 and an RDS Silver Medal. The runner up will collect a cheque for €300 and third place a cheque for €200, with each receiving an RDS certificate of merit.

The second award recognises the work of allotment providers and this award is open to local authorities, allotment societies, community gardening groups and any other individuals who are providing allotments. The winner of this award will receive a cheque for €1,000 and an RDS Silver Medal. This award seeks to recognise the work that has been carried out on the overall allotment site as well as the supports that are provided to the individual growers.

Mr Jim Flanagan, Chairman of the RDS Committee of Agriculture said that “The RDS Allotment Awards are intended to encourage standards of excellence in allotment gardening and to promote bio-diversity, which is vitally important, in that it provides significant economic, environmental, health and cultural benefits to Ireland”.

Founded in 1731, the RDS continues to fulfil its commitment to advancing agriculture, arts, industry and science. The RDS Allotment Awards are part of the RDS foundation’s programme which aims to promote excellence in Irish Agriculture through its diverse range of activities and awards.

Application forms are available on the RDS website: www.rds.ie/agriculture or via email at agriculture@rds.ie and by calling the RDS Agriculture Foundation on 01 240 7215. Closing date for entries is Wednesday, July 1, 2010. Judging of the allotments will take place over the summer with an awards ceremony taking place in the RDS in the autumn.

Bloom Time

Thomas — Thu, 13 May 2010 13:52:18 +0000

Ireland’s Biggest Garden Festival to Bloom in June

Bord Bia has announced its plans for Bloom 2010 which will take place in the Phoenix Park, Dublin over the June bank holiday weekend. In addition to the stunning show gardens and an enhanced artisan food offering, ‘Sustainability’, ‘Local Food’ and ‘Grow Your Own’, are central themes to this year’s event, which has attracted over 150,000 visitors since its inaugural staging in 2007.

According to Aidan Cotter, Chief Executive, Bord Bia “the themes for Bloom 2010 reflect current consumer sentiment and the interaction between horticulture, food and the environment. Bloom aims to educate, inspire and inform visitors and with something planned for all ages, we trust visitors will enjoy the wide and expanded range of features and exhibits Bloom 2010 has to offer.”

Flora and Fauna
The show gardens at Bloom are the very essence of the show. Ireland's top horticultural talent will deliver elaborate displays and the very best in cutting edge garden design. According to Gary Graham, Bloom Project Manager, Bord Bia “visitors to the show this year will be amazed at the vibrancy and intricacy of the designs. Designers from across the country will produce a selection of some of the most visually impressive show pieces that our rich stock of garden design professionals have to offer.”

Bloom 2010 will include 25 large, medium and small show gardens, which will be complemented by a spectacular floral pavilion featuring 50 displays and the best of Irish plants and flowers. Both the show gardens and the floral displays will be judged by international independent judging panels, including Chelsea Flower Show adjudicator, Andrew Wilson. Gold, silver gilt, silver and bronze medals will be awarded based on strict guidelines addressing both horticultural skills and design superiority. In 2009, 51 medals were awarded.

GIY Ireland, a network of grow-it-yourselfers, has joined forces with previous Bloom medal winner Fiann Ó Nualláin, to create a totally ‘Edible Garden’ for this year’s show. “The garden is designed as a classic suburban garden to show visitors just how much GIY-ing can be done in that environment and how a productive suburban vegetable patch can also be an attractive garden” commented Michael Kelly, Founder of GIY Ireland.

GIY-ers nationwide are currently growing vegetables for the Bloom exhibit. Supporters in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway are busy growing peas for the Edible Garden; red onions will come from Boyle, Co. Roscommon; leeks have been assigned to the Carrick on Suir contingent and the people of Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford have been charged with producing the perfect potatoes! In total growers from 52 locations around Ireland are currently cultivating over 50 different types of vegetable in time for the Bloom harvest. The same group of growers and volunteers will also be involved in the construction of the Edible Garden.

Locally grown fresh produce and plants will feature strongly at Bloom 2010. Bord Bia’s “Best in Season” fresh produce marquee will promote the consumption of fruit and vegetables and highlight the nutritional benefits of eating the recommended daily amounts. The feature will include a fabulous display of the full range of fruit and vegetables grown by Irish producers. Helpers will be on hand to provide information on Ireland’s fresh produce industry and to highlight what’s Best in Season when! A ‘Garden Time’ feature will also highlight the wide range of ornamental plants grown in Ireland and the suitability of these plants for the Irish climate.

Also new for 2010, is Bord Bia’s ‘Sustainable Garden’, which aims to highlight the positive impact consumers can have on the environment by thinking about their purchasing choices. Bord Bia is also currently working with the Carbon Trust to measure the carbon footprint of Bloom and will use the results to plan future events. A series of measures have been put in place to reduce the carbon footprint of this year’s event including waste management controls, monitoring the reuse of materials after the event and increasing the use of public transport to travel to and from Bloom.

The Office of Public Works (OPW), which provides the 70 acre site for Bloom, will once again open its walled kitchen garden to the public, which has been restored to its original Victorian style. The garden will allow visitors to learn more about the growing of fruit, vegetables and flowers and during the 5-day event, the Phoenix Park gardeners will be on hand to answer any questions.

The Garden Expert Stage will also host a comprehensive range of leading experts in horticulture, gardening and floristry. Speakers will include UK TV presenter James Alexander Sinclair; Ireland’s gardening guru Gerry Daly and Shawna Lee Coronado, American author of the critically acclaimed book, Gardening Nude, a guide for living a green lifestyle.

Family Show
Once again, children can enter Bloom free of charge and this year the event will incorporate many more family orientated attractions and activities. The Irish Preschool Play Association (IPPA) will be onsite with an imaginative and interactive garden, including hay castles and willow huts. The garden will be constructed on a minuscule budget using natural materials. The IPPA hope to encourage families, playgroups, county councils and crèches to replicate the simple play garden concept to provide young children nationwide with more play areas.

Imaginosity, the children’s museum based in Sandyford, Co. Dublin, will return with a “Good to Grow” feature for Bloom 2010. Daily workshops and classes for children will vary from how to grow your own vegetables to building a bird’s nest. Mini Bloom fans can also enjoy puppet shows, storytelling tents and help create a ‘Scented Garden’.

Earlier this year the Irish fruit and vegetable industry, Bord Bia and educational body Agri Aware challenged school pupils nationwide to not only eat their fruit and vegetables, but to know and grow their own. As part of the “Incredible Edibles” challenge every primary school received a box including everything a class needs to grow their five-a-day. The “Incredible Edible” characters will be at Bloom to show all the younger visitors how to grow and sow fruit and vegetables.

Bloom neighbours - Dublin Zoo - will host a number of children’s workshops throughout the weekend and this year visitors will have the opportunity to meet, and feed, a number of farm animals at the mini Bloom farm.

Food & Drink at Bloom
The Food Market is now firmly established as a key attraction at Bloom and this year’s Food Market will be Bloom’s biggest yet! With over 40 artisan food producers, the market highlights the very best that small artisan producers from around Ireland have to offer. The producers themselves will be on hand to provide tastings and give tips on how to prepare tasty dishes using their products. The market will include a huge variety of foods from handmade chocolates, and baked goods to farmhouse cheeses and the finest Irish honey.

A ‘Craft Beer Garden’ will allow Bloom visitors over the age of 18 to enjoy the very best of independent Irish beers, spirits, and liqueurs. This new space will be located near the music stage and the artisan catering offering, a perfect addition to this relaxed picnic area.

Each day, Bord Bia will also host four live demonstrations on the Bloom cookery stage. Featured chefs will include award winning chef Neven Maguire; Darina Allen, Ballymaloe Cookery School; food blogger and author of “Good Mood Food” Donal Skehan and well known TV chef Jenny Bristow. The dishes prepared by the celebrity chefs will promote quality assured local produce and will be available to order each day in Bistro Bloom.

There will be an particular emphasis on artisan food within ‘The Food Village’, the area incorporating all the outdoor catering options, where food producers will “serve slow food fast”.

A new feature for 2010 - Bord Bia will seek to bring food to life through a series of talks and demonstrations which will take place alongside the Food Market. The purpose of the showcase is to recreate the link for visitors between the food products on sale at the Market and the craft skills used in their creation. The demonstrations will also bring to life ‘forgotten’ food skills from Ireland’s past.

Skills on show will include cheese making, butter churning, apple pressing and fish smoking. The demonstrators and talks will be delivered by a mix of current artisan producers and domestic practitioners.

Sponsors
The Bloom 2010 key sponsors include the OPW, Love Irish Food, Woodies, Failte Ireland, the Travel Department and Specsavers.

Tickets on sale now
Tickets are on sale on www.bloominthepark.com or by calling 0818 300 260, with significant discounts available in advance of the show. No booking fee applies and children go free.

Bloom 2010 will run from Thursday June 3rd – Monday June 7th.

Grow Your Own Course in Dublin

Thomas — Wed, 12 May 2010 21:05:34 +0000

Original Post http://blog.doneganlandscaping.com/2010/05/12/grow-your-own-course/

course title: grow your own kitchen garden
where: ballyboughal [just outside Swords, north Dublin]
when: saturday 22nd May 2010
time: 10am – 2pm
cost: €60
numbers limit: 8/9 people max

Details:

After my talk with the GIY group and then after the last course was covered recently in the Irish Independent by Susan Daly….I don’t want to be farmer. I shall rephrase. I don’t wish to remortgage the house so I can garden full time. I don’t have time for an allotment and I don’t wish to grow enough vegetables to feed an entire village. If that is you..? or you wish to gather the simple basics to get started then… this is for you.

A little more concise in set up than the previous GYO class but with the exactly the same subject and content covered, the theory is one session you will go home with enough skills to become self sufficient in looking after yourself from a grow your own – without the use of a tractor

Whether you have a window ledge, a small patio or just wish to grow in pots on that amount of space, bearing in mind that there just enough time in life between eastenders and the 9 o’clock news.

Interested or book yourself in ? :

very simple….

email Peter info[at]doneganlandscaping.com
telephone mobile 087-6594688
do so via the contact page

Cork Floods

Thomas — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:17:56 +0000

For all people affected by the floods in Cork please keep an eye on the following resources:

Laura McGonigle is posting regular updates and information from the Council. She has posted great tips on how to manage your water for people that currently do not have access to tap water and has been posting essential updates on a very regular basis.

Cork County Council website for updates and information

RTE News section for updates from around the country

Raising Cork, a very successful charity event to help thos most affected by the flood in Cork in 2009

New Allotments in Clonalvy near Garristown Co dublin.

Thomas — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:38:28 +0000

Clonalvy Allotments,
near Garristown Co dublin.

Located beside the church in Clonalvy village, in a beautiful setting. Plots are 120sqm (6×20), with water, parking, plus the option of being rotovated and manure provided as part of the price, €320pa.

For further info contact:

Laurence on 086 6007009
Brian on 0872506395
laurencephayes@hotmail.com

Castlefarm’s third annual Christmas craft market

Thomas — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:45:57 +0000

Peter and I would like to invite you to our Christmas market which takes place next week in our farmyard! (Sunday 22nd of Nov 12-6)

As a special treat local chef Ronny Wolf will be spit roasting one of our organic pigs. (Hot pork baps served with autumn chutney for a fiver)

Free mulled wine and apple juice as well as singing from the Kilcullen Scouts and local fundraisers Give a Girl a Chance will keep you in the festive spirit.

For Christmas shopping made Irish and easy local crafts include pottery, jewellery, candles, art, cribs, Christmas decorations, knit ware, stationery, cards and even Athy made hen houses.

Castlefarm local food hampers will also be tailor made for customers on the day, orders for perishables can also be made for collection or delivery nearer to Christmas.

This is our third annual Christmas craft market and we hope you can pop in join us on the day!

So you might like to put Sunday 22nd November from 12-6 in your diary to visit an atmospheric farmyard Christmas market!

Contact Information:

Jenny Young
Castlefarm Shop
Narraghmore
Athy
Co Kildare
059 8636948
www.castlefarmshop.ie
jenny@castlefarmshop.ie

GIY CLONAKILTY First Public Meeting on the 16th of November

Thomas — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:22:22 +0000

Interested in growing your own food?

To find out how YOU can Grow Your Own Food, come to the inaugural

GIY CLONAKILTY

Public Meeting at

O’Donovan’s Hotel, Clonakilty

Monday, 16th of November at 8.00 pm.

With some exciting guest speakers, it will be the perfect starting point for anyone interesting in growing it yourself in 2010!

For more information, call Colin on 087 276 4329 or

Email: GIYClonakilty@gmail.com or check out GIY Ireland

GIY (Grow-It-Yourself) Ireland is a new not-for-profit initiative that is literally sweeping the nation. Our objective is to get people who are interested in growing their own food on a regular basis together (in the community and online) to talk, learn from each other and exchange tips, produce and war stories. GIY activities include monthly meetings, talks and demos; garden visits, seed and seedling swaps; produce bartering, mentor panels and growers’ meitheals.

GIY Ireland aims to establish a GIY group in every community in Ireland . There are currently 30 GIY groups in 15 counties nationwide and over 50 other groups in development. Meetings are free and open to people who are growing at all levels – from those who grow a few herbs in a window box to those who are completely self-sufficient, from absolute beginners to old hands. Patrons of GIY Ireland include Darina Allen, Clodagh McKenna and Joy Larkcom. A local GIY group needs a mix of interests, abilities and experience to make this a success – everyone is welcome. Come along and bring any family, friends or neighbours who might be interested too.

The first Public Meeting and launch of *GIY CLONAKILTY* will take place in O’Donovan’s Hotel, Clonakilty, on Monday the 16^th of November at 8.00 pm, where we are delighted to welcome *Joy Larkcom* for a talk and presentation, focusing on the /where/, the /what/ and the /how/ of vegetable growing. Joy is a seasoned campaigner, renowned gardener, accomplished writer and broadcaster, and a local resident. With the help of a growers’ calendar and small informal discussion groups, we will further explore the tasks required for the autumn campaign. In a relaxed atmosphere, our aim is that the meeting be both informative and inspirational. For more information visit www.giyireland.com or contact Colin on 087 276 4329 or Email: GIYClonakilty@gmail.com or check out GIY Ireland

The future of farming?

Thomas — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:20:53 +0000

Cork Environmental Forum and Transition Town Kinsale present…

The Future of Farming?

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

A new model of food production

Presentation by John Dolan

Bantry CSA

Followed by

Refreshments and Discussion

Wednesday 11th November 7.30 pm

Carmelite Friary Centre, Kinsale

Admission free – donations welcome

First GIY meeting in Cork

Thomas — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:20:07 +0000

We’re happy to invite you to the first Grow It Yourself meeting. we hope to hold a monthly meetings from December on. for more information visit the event page.

Time: December 1, 2009 from 7pm to 9pm
Location: south presentation, evergreen st. Cork
Organized By: Naomi

Event Description:
GIY (Grow it Yourself) Ireland is a new not-for-profit initiative that is literally sweeping the nation. Its objective is to get people who are interested in growing their own food together (in the community and online) on a regular basis to talk, learn from each other and exchange tips, produce and war stories. GIY activities include monthly meetings, talks and demos; garden visits, seed and seedling swaps; produce bartering, mentor panels and grower’s meitheals.

GIY Ireland aims to establish a GIY group in every community in Ireland. There are currently 30 GIY groups in 15 counties nationwide and over 50 other groups in development. Meetings are free and open to people who are growing at all levels – from those who grow a few herbs in a window box to those who are completely self-sufficient, from absolute beginners to old hands. Patrons of GIY Ireland include Darina Allen, Clodagh McKenna and Joy Larkcom. Your local GIY group needs a mix of interests, abilities and experience to make this a success – so don’t be shy. Come along and bring any family, friends or neighbours who might be interested too. GIY Anytown will be based in venue. The first meeting takes place on Tuesday the 1st of December at 7pm. For more information visit www.giyireland.com.

See more details and RSVP on Cork Food Web